New Delhi: Essar Group, owned by Indian billionaires Shashi and Ravi Ruia, plans to raise $3 billion (Dh11 billion) overseas to fund acquisitions and expand its oil, power and steel businesses, two people familiar with the matter said.
The money may be raised through debt or sale of equity in Essar Energy, a holding company for the group's energy businesses, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the plan isn't final. A decision on the fund-raising may be taken in six weeks, the person said.
Essar is in talks to buy three Royal Dutch Shell oil refineries and is acquiring steel plants and coal and iron ore mines across the world to compete with rivals including Reliance and ArcelorMittal.
"They're looking to acquire a stake in Shell's three refineries, so this could be an attempt to raise more money to do that," said Swarnendu Bhushan, a Mumbai-based analyst for HDFC Securities.
Essar Oil, which has a market value of $3.8 billion, rose 3.5 per cent to Rs144.85 at 10.52am in Mumbai trading.
The Ruia brothers, together the fifth-richest in India according to Forbes magazine in November, are considering listing shares of Essar Energy on the London Stock Exchange, the two persons said.
Essar may raise $3 billion from the listing, the Financial Times reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information. The group has appointed JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank as advisers for the listing.
